fingers at Matt and shouting at him. Shouting that he wasn’t a man, that he was a... “Oh, my God! I did this!”
The anger rushed out of me, and with it went the electricity, the power that could possibly reverse the spell I’d cast on my unsuspecting dog of a fiancé. Plopping down to sit cross-legged on the floor, I rested my face in my hands. I was exhausted, and frustrated, and nearly on the verge of tears. Every bit of energy I had had been sucked out of me by that last bit of magic. I needed sleep, and at that moment, I didn’t care if I slept right there on the cold tile.
Drawing in a long, steadying breath, I looked up at the wide-eyed magician. “I think you need to leave, Jackson Blake.”
“Ivie, please give me a chance to explain.” He sputtered out the words, but I wasn’t listening.
I just wanted to climb into bed and rest. It was almost daylight, and I had wasted the entire night on his foolish, dangerous game. I’d never be able to turn Matt back, and I would probably be locked up for the rest of my life for killing him when he was—I stared into my four-legged fiancé’s sad eyes—right here.
“Please just go,” I begged with what little energy I had left. “Let yourself out if you don’t mind. I’m too tired to get up.”
“Let me help you.” Jack knelt beside me and tried to help me up, but I brushed his hand away. I didn’t need any more of what he had to offer.
He stood and nodded before walking out of my kitchen. I heard the faint click of the front door as he went out.
That was the last thing I remembered.
Ten
S unlight streamed through the window, burning a hole through my eyelids. At least, that’s what it felt like. That, or the marching band inside my head carried torches to burn their way out of me while I froze my ass off on the cold kitchen tile, still wearing nothing but Jack’s Henley. If that wasn’t bad enough, Matt stood over me, barking in time with the ringing of the doorbell.
“Go ’way!”
The last thing I wanted to do was answer the door. It was probably Jack, back with another excuse or another scam to get me into bed… again. Not that we’d actually made it to a bed. But the idea did intrigue me.
And oh, God… Whether I wanted to admit it or not, if I saw him again, I would definitely cave.
I gripped my head and staggered over to the cupboard. I refused to fall for his tricks. Again. I dug through the array of over-the-counter medicines until I found aspirin and choked down two without water.
“Shut it, Matt.” I scowled at the small dog. Judging by the continued ringing, whoever was at the door was in it for the long haul. “Just a minute!”
I ran to the laundry room and dug through the pile of clean clothes on the floor, settling on a pair of Matt’s green gym sweats. After tugging them on, I dashed to answer the door and caught my reflection in the hall mirror. I wiped at my raccoon eyes and ran my hands through the tangled mess of flamboyant Jessica Rabbit hair, failing miserably in taming it even somewhat. With a deep breath, I pulled the door open. Two uniformed policemen stood there.
“Can… can I help you?”
The taller of the two stepped forward. He towered over his much shorter partner, reminding me of Penn and Teller. I almost expected him to ask me to pick a card. I forced the magician reference from my brain. “Is Dr. Green in?” he asked.
“Umm… no, he’s not home. Is something wrong?”
“Dr. Green has been reported missing, and his car was found abandoned this morning.”
“His car was abandoned ?” My voice went up an octave. I’d almost forgotten I’d deserted the car in the woods when I left with Jack. “What makes you think he’s missing?”
“Dr. Green’s fiancée called in a missing person’s report.”
“His fiancée ?” I’d officially become a parrot.
“Yes, ma’am. We’re just following up. If he isn’t here, we’d like to have a few words with his former fiancée, Ms.
The anger rushed out of me, and with it went the electricity, the power that could possibly reverse the spell I’d cast on my unsuspecting dog of a fiancé. Plopping down to sit cross-legged on the floor, I rested my face in my hands. I was exhausted, and frustrated, and nearly on the verge of tears. Every bit of energy I had had been sucked out of me by that last bit of magic. I needed sleep, and at that moment, I didn’t care if I slept right there on the cold tile.
Drawing in a long, steadying breath, I looked up at the wide-eyed magician. “I think you need to leave, Jackson Blake.”
“Ivie, please give me a chance to explain.” He sputtered out the words, but I wasn’t listening.
I just wanted to climb into bed and rest. It was almost daylight, and I had wasted the entire night on his foolish, dangerous game. I’d never be able to turn Matt back, and I would probably be locked up for the rest of my life for killing him when he was—I stared into my four-legged fiancé’s sad eyes—right here.
“Please just go,” I begged with what little energy I had left. “Let yourself out if you don’t mind. I’m too tired to get up.”
“Let me help you.” Jack knelt beside me and tried to help me up, but I brushed his hand away. I didn’t need any more of what he had to offer.
He stood and nodded before walking out of my kitchen. I heard the faint click of the front door as he went out.
That was the last thing I remembered.
Ten
S unlight streamed through the window, burning a hole through my eyelids. At least, that’s what it felt like. That, or the marching band inside my head carried torches to burn their way out of me while I froze my ass off on the cold kitchen tile, still wearing nothing but Jack’s Henley. If that wasn’t bad enough, Matt stood over me, barking in time with the ringing of the doorbell.
“Go ’way!”
The last thing I wanted to do was answer the door. It was probably Jack, back with another excuse or another scam to get me into bed… again. Not that we’d actually made it to a bed. But the idea did intrigue me.
And oh, God… Whether I wanted to admit it or not, if I saw him again, I would definitely cave.
I gripped my head and staggered over to the cupboard. I refused to fall for his tricks. Again. I dug through the array of over-the-counter medicines until I found aspirin and choked down two without water.
“Shut it, Matt.” I scowled at the small dog. Judging by the continued ringing, whoever was at the door was in it for the long haul. “Just a minute!”
I ran to the laundry room and dug through the pile of clean clothes on the floor, settling on a pair of Matt’s green gym sweats. After tugging them on, I dashed to answer the door and caught my reflection in the hall mirror. I wiped at my raccoon eyes and ran my hands through the tangled mess of flamboyant Jessica Rabbit hair, failing miserably in taming it even somewhat. With a deep breath, I pulled the door open. Two uniformed policemen stood there.
“Can… can I help you?”
The taller of the two stepped forward. He towered over his much shorter partner, reminding me of Penn and Teller. I almost expected him to ask me to pick a card. I forced the magician reference from my brain. “Is Dr. Green in?” he asked.
“Umm… no, he’s not home. Is something wrong?”
“Dr. Green has been reported missing, and his car was found abandoned this morning.”
“His car was abandoned ?” My voice went up an octave. I’d almost forgotten I’d deserted the car in the woods when I left with Jack. “What makes you think he’s missing?”
“Dr. Green’s fiancée called in a missing person’s report.”
“His fiancée ?” I’d officially become a parrot.
“Yes, ma’am. We’re just following up. If he isn’t here, we’d like to have a few words with his former fiancée, Ms.
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